DILI, 17 February 2025 (TATOLI) – The National Press Council (NPC), in cooperation with the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the Secretary of State for Social Communication (SEKOMS-Tetun), with financial support from the Japanese Government, organized a six-day Media Debate Training on Democracy for Timorese journalists in Dili.
A total of 60 journalists from various media outlets, including radio stations, television, print, online media, and media NGOs, were chosen to participate in the six-day training. The training for the first group of 30 will take place from February 17 to 19, while the second group’s training will be held from February 20 to 22 at the São Paulo II Hall in Comoro, Dili.
The aim of the training is to improve the quality of media debate in Timor-Leste by enhancing journalists’ skills and proper understanding of the role of media in promoting democracy.
The training is expected to enhance journalists’ skills in analyzing contemporary discussion topics and issues, improving public speaking skills, employing critical thinking, and constructing logical and persuasive arguments.
In addition, the training also enables the journalists to understand the importance of fostering productive and responsible debate.
In his remarks, Secretary of State for Social Communication, Expedito Dias Ximenes said that as an open forum for debate and discussion, media play a crucial role in shaping public opinion in Timor-Leste.
He said that media debates play an important role in improving democratic participation: “The media provides a platform for public debate and discussion, enabling diverse viewpoints from political leaders, experts, academicians, MPs, and Entrepreneurs on a particular topic to be aired and debated,” Ximenes explained.
He therefore said that journalists who take on roles as debate and discussion moderators or interviewers need to master the skills required to host a good public debate.
President of the National Press Council (NPC), Otelio Ote, urged the journalists to use the opportunity wisely to acquire new skills in order to be able to organize good debates in their respective media institutions in the future.
Meanwhile, UNDP’s Program Manager, Muhamed Jaffar, said that the Media Debate Training is part of UNDP’s project for the capacity building of journalists, aiming to support the promotion of democracy and good governance in the country: “I request all the participants to take the maximum benefit of this training and use this training as an opportunity to enhance your skills and play your role for a better democracy and Good Governance.”
At the same place, the third Secretary of the Embassy of Japan in Timor-Leste, Minako Tateno said the three-day training will provide journalists valuable skills and insights as frontline journalists: “On behalf of the Embassy of Japan, I am very happy to financially support this training program.”
Tateno encouraged the journalists to make the most of the opportunity to expand their knowledge, broaden their professional networks, and develop the skills needed to provide quality journalism, as they are the architects of the public discourse and democracy in Timor-Leste.
The Media Debate Training is the second batch of the Media Capacity Building Project by UNDP and NPC, with financial support from the Japanese government.
On August 27th, 2024, UNDP Timor-Leste’s Resident Representative Katyna Argueta, and the President of National Press Council (NPC), Otelio Ote, signed a Letter of Agreement (LOA) on media capacity building. The signing ceremony formalized the collaboration between UNDP and the NPC to carry out the project’s capacity-building goal.
Funded by a US$6 million commitment from the Government of Japan, the UNDP project “Strengthening the Operational Capacities of the RTTL (Rádio e Televisão Timor-Leste) to enhance Democratic Governance in Timor-Leste”, has two key objectives: constructing a Green Building for the new RTTL headquarters and providing tailored trainings to enhance in-house capacities for conducting social and political debates, with a focus on youth and women.
TATOLI
